Sage of Humanity

The blade flickered, and Lu Ye hacked down with another slash, Senior Brother Zhou raised his sword to block. Previously, he would have definitely stabbed at the opponent's sword-wielding hand, confident he could injure him before the slash came down.

But now he dared not, for he knew it would be futile, the opponent would not retreat even slightly, even if stabbed, that slash would still come down.

The slash was blocked by his longsword but the immense force also caused his figure to stagger. Lu Ye kicked up his foot, striking directly at Senior Brother Zhou's blood-drenched thigh.

It was one of the initial wounds Lu Ye had inflicted, and it was extremely deep.

Senior Brother Zhou screamed in pain, his figure unstable, half-kneeling on the ground from the kick, but he managed to slash Lu Ye's calf with his sword, creating a long wound.

Lu Ye, as if he felt no pain, pounced forward again. His longsword swept up a wave of light, mercilessly aiming for Senior Brother Zhou's head.

Clang, clang, clang...

The sound of weapons clashing rang out, Lu Ye's strikes were blocked by Senior Brother Zhou one by one until, at a certain moment, with a crisp crack, Senior Brother Zhou's longsword broke, leaving less than half a foot of the blade...

Longswords are not suited for slashing, that's why Lu Ye had switched to a saber. Despite Senior Brother Zhou's sword being of higher quality, it could not withstand such rough handling.

With his weapon broken, it was undoubtedly bad news for Senior Brother Zhou.

Looking up, he saw Lu Ye's saber slashing down, he no longer had any means of defense.

Moments later, Lu Ye stood blood-soaked, his knife-wielding right hand trembling violently, significant blood loss making his complexion pale.

In front of him, Senior Brother Zhou lay in a pool of blood, his body twitching, blood oozing from his mouth, occasionally coughing lightly. The golden light that had covered him was already shattered by Lu Ye's several slashes, his body covered with deep, bone-revealing wounds, the most severe one at his neck, which nearly decapitated him.

He was not dead yet. Spirit Stream Level 5 cultivators are robust, but he was also powerless to resist. Lu Ye raised his longsword, piercing straight through.

The sound of the blade piercing flesh resounded, Senior Brother Zhou convulsed violently, then fell silent.

Seeing a slight red glow emerge from the back of the opponent's hand, Lu Ye finally let down his guard.

He had won!

Truth be told, Lu Ye's victory in this battle was entirely due to a chaotically executed flurry of blows that killed a more skilled master. Senior Brother Zhou's cultivation and skills were far superior to Lu Ye's, but he had likely never engaged in such a frantic combat before.

His opponent unprotected except for two vital areas, and the exceedingly sharp saber kept slashing relentlessly, presenting a do-or-die attitude that left no room for Senior Brother Zhou to utilize his superior skill and cultivation.

The longsword clattered to the ground, and his body staggered backwards and fell.

"Lu Ye!" Yiyi's crying voice rang out. She rushed to his back, bracing him with her petite body, allowing Lu Ye to slowly slide down and sit on the ground.

Amber staggered over too, nudging his head close to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye gasped for breath, the piercing wound on his right chest made his breathing difficult, his lungs already numb. He struggled to take out two healing pills from his storage sack and swallowed them, silently sensing his condition.

It was bad, various penetrating wounds, and no fewer than 20 others – minor and major. Although the healing pills were helpful, they were insufficient to recover from such severe injuries.

Barely about 10% spirit force remained in his body. The fight over the short span of a tea time had used up too much energy; he inwardly felt fortunate that he had only activated two Defense Spirit Runes to protect his vital areas. Had he activated one more, he probably wouldn't have lasted to see the victory.

Yiyi anxiously watched him from the side, eager to help but unsure where to start.

Lu Ye, shaking, took a set of new clothes from his storage sack, gasping for breath, "Dress the wounds..."

Yiyi quickly tore the set of clothes into strips and dressed Lu Ye's wounds one by one. She had obviously never done this before, creating a messy bandage, but it was at least somewhat effective in stopping the bleeding.

"Take me away, we can't stay here long," Lu Ye's voice was much weaker, and he seemed likely to faint at any moment. Although Senior Brother Zhou had died without being able to send any message, the previous fight had not been small and it could possibly attract nearby cultivators.

Moreover, there were many demon beasts in the jungle, and the smell of blood would draw them here.

Yiyi nodded and gave Amber a command. Amber immediately crouched down low, waiting for Yiyi to lift Lu Ye onto the tiger's back before rising.

Yiyi also picked up the longsword Lu Ye had dropped on the ground and then went out to collect the tiny bell spirit artifact and the storage sacks of Senior Brother Zhou and a few others.

Lying on the tiger's back, Lu Ye witnessed it all, his heart filled with satisfaction.

Not letting go of any spoils of war, what a tremendously good tradition...n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Lu Ye, where are we going?" Yiyi asked.

Lu Ye raised his hand and pointed in a direction, Amber dashed off immediately, while Yiyi also sat on the tiger's back, supporting Lu Ye's body to prevent him from falling off.

The scenery around them retreated continually, and Lu Ye's consciousness grew more and more blurry. He felt he was about to faint soon. Yiyi couldn't heal, and if he fainted, the two healing pills he had taken before might not have much effect, and he could die.

Therefore, the urgent priority was to find someone to heal him.

Instantly, a gentle-speaking beauty appeared in his mind. It was late at night, just more than two hours until sunrise. If Amber was fast enough, they might be able to make it in time.

"About 30 miles away, Mount Ying, find Hua Ci!" Lu Ye finally took out the ten-part map from his own storage sack, handed it to Yiyi, and after saying that, he completely fainted.

Yiyi didn't know who Hua Ci was, but since Lu Ye had instructed her so, she would simply follow his orders.

Supporting Lu Ye with one hand and examining the ten-part map with the other, she confirmed Mount Ying's location, directing Amber toward that direction.

...

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A carriage was traveling on the road, heading to Liusu Place. Kong Niu was driving the carriage, which carried Hua Ci. This routine had lasted a long time. Unless something unexpected happened, Hua Ci went to Liusu Place every day to heal injured cultivators.

Inside the carriage, she seemed to be lost in thought, occasionally smiling as if recalling something amusing.

Suddenly, she looked down at the back of her right hand—someone was sending her a message, and the only ones who could contact her were a few members from the Independent Wanderers Society.

After checking, Hua Ci suddenly leapt out of the carriage.

Kong Niu, sensing the movement, quickly reined in the horses and turned his head to look back, only to see Hua Ci hurriedly returning the way they came. From afar, her voice reached him, "I'm not going out today, you come back too."

"Oh!" Kong Niu responded, turning the carriage around. He didn't ask what was going on; for him, Hua Ci's words were an order, which he simply obeyed, after all, his life was given by Hua Ci.